Gymnastics Ribbon Ceremonies

Most of the time when Daniel and Joy are at gymnastics class . . .

. . . we have to watch them through the windows in the lobby.  Twice a year, though . . .

. . . families get to go into the gym and cheer the students on as they receive ribbons for goals they've recently achieved.  Daniel received one for making progress with one of his bar maneuvers . . .

. . . and Joy received ribbons for improving her cartwheel and a forward roll on the bars.

Partying with Cookie Monster

The public television station at the local university threw a big party today to celebrate its 50th birthday.

Anyone who showed up got to jump in some bounce houses . . .

. . . and eat cookies decorated like Cookie Monster and Elmo.

Anna got her face painted . . .

. . . then we drew with sidewalk chalk until the party started to wind down.  The DJ turned on some upbeat music while he started to put his equipment away . . .

. . . so we had a little family dance party.

We all agreed that the dancing at the end was our favorite part of the outing.

On a side note, this slightly modified sign makes me smile every time I drive past the university.  That and the sight of all the "eager young minds" heading to and from their classes.  They conjure up fond memories of my college days at BYU.

Chickens and Bunnies and Goats--Oh My!

Todd and I went to the county fair earlier this week to see what there was to see.

We both thought the livestock area was pretty interesting.

I was surprised that they kept cows and even bulls in open pens where you could walk right up and touch them (if you're foolhardy enough).

Many of the goat and sheep pens were lovingly decorated by their young 4-H owners.  The name of this farm made me smile.

So did this chicken, which looked like it had a giant pom pom for a head.

And in case you've ever wondered, this is what a grand champion bunny rabbit looks like.

Autumnal Equinox (AKA Pumpkin Cookie Day)

Today is the first official day of autumn, and in our home that means it's time to make the year's first batch of pumpkin cookies!

The big kids helped me add ingredients like flour . . .

. . . and cinnamon.

Todd took a supervisory role, making sure Joy put the right amount of dough on the cookie sheets.

Welcome, autumn--my favorite time of year!

A Parade with Something for Everyone

I heard that the annual Faulkner County Fair Parade would be winding through our fair city today, so I took the kids downtown to see what the parade would be like.

There were floats for every local football team . . .

. . . every local school (including our own Ellen Smith Elementary) . . .

. . . and lots of political candidates (the live band on this one was a nice touch).

We saw dozens of beauty queens of various ages from various pageants waving from the back of convertibles.  The beauty queens were Anna's favorite part of the parade because she liked their crowns and pretty dresses.

Joy liked seeing all of the saxophones in this high school band.  She wants to learn to play the saxophone someday.

My favorite part of the parade was the local library's homage to Star Wars.  It had nothing whatsoever to do with the parade's county fair theme, but that was OK by me.  I'll take our library and Star Wars over a county fair any day.

Daniel spent most of the parade complaining that he was bored and wanted to go home.  After an hour and a half I decided we'd seen enough football players and beauty queens for one day, and we got ready to head home.  Just then, a bunch of people came around the bend riding horses, and Daniel decided that the parade was totally cool and he was glad we came.  You just never know what is going to appeal to a kid.

Dante on Sunday

Joy decided that Sunday would be a good day for some light reading . . .

. . . so she read my entire copy of Dante's Inferno.  As a lifelong bookworm, I share Joy's love of reading, but I'm still kind of amazed when she reads books I wouldn't expect her to enjoy for another few years (or decades).

Related Sprouts and Quiet Vacuuming

It's only been a few days since I planted seeds in my garden . . .

. . .  and the kale is already sprouting.

I noticed that the radishes are coming up too, and that the seedlings look a whole lot like the kale sprouts.  I did a little research and found out that kale and radishes come from the same plant family (along with broccoli and cabbage).  Who knew?

In other news, at chore time Joy wanted to try vacuuming but didn't want to be bothered by the loud roar of the vacuum.  She found a novel solution to her problem: headphones to cut down the noise.

Anna doesn't like the loud vacuum noise either, so she followed Joy's example.

Letters and Numbers with Todd

Lately Todd has been working on his letters and numbers while his sibs are away at school.

He likes to type numbers in order on Daddy's computer.  One time he typed every number up to 200, and a little beyond it.  We've tried to teach him to put spaces between the numbers, but he usually doesn't bother with that little convention.

Todd also likes to write letters on paper.  I explained to him how to write some letters on his own, and he did a decent job for a toddler, but mostly he prefers to have me help him write letters that are more legible.  His favorite words to write (with my help) are the names of people in his family. :)

Our Fall Garden

Frame +

Dirt +

+ Seeds and Plants = Garden!

I planted kale, spinach, chard, lettuce, beet, and radish seeds, along with green onions, thyme, parsley, and basil plants I bought at the grocery store.  Joy added some turnip, carrot, and wheat seeds at her end of the plot.  I'm looking forward to seeing how our garden grows.

Many Talents

Joy is a girl of many talents.

She can eat the middle out of a pretzel without breaking it apart.

She can switch her hands when she plays the piano . . .

. . . and even play one of her favorite songs while lying on her back.  I sure can't do any of those things.  Can you?

A Zippy Anniversary

Phillip and I celebrated our anniversary this week, and we decided to commemorate eleven years of marriage with a romantic getaway . . .

. . . zip lining in Hot Springs.

Neither of us had ever been zip lining before, and though the first "bunny slope" line had a low tower and a shallow angle, it was still hard to convince my brain that stepping off into thin air was a good idea.  I sat down in my harness, gingerly eased myself off the platform . . . and after surviving that first attempt I wasn't scared a bit.

 Soon enough we were zipping through the trees having a grand time.

Half the fun was blithely brushing past "Warning! Keep Off!" signs to traverse a narrow log bridge . . . 

. . . or a swaying suspension bridge high above a stream . . .

. . . so we could zip through the forest some more.  Thanks for sharing this adventure with me, Sweetheart--both the zip line tour and our eleven-year journey.  Here's to many more years and ultimately eternity together. 

Thank You, Engineer Husband!

This morning Daddy bought some lumber . . .

. . . and set to work building me a frame for a raised vegetable garden . . .

. . . (while Todd played with the little pieces of wood Daddy wasn't using yet).

Phillip was even brave enough to let Joy pound a few of the nails just inches from his thumb.

I'm so excited to finally have my own garden (or at least the start of one--I'll add the dirt, seeds, and plants later this week).  I told Phillip it was one of the best anniversary gifts he's ever given me.